Umbrella Revolution Wall 2014

Friday, October 30, 2009

There is a large hornet, bee-like, wasp-y, ugly thing flying around by the light. Under normal circumstances I would run like hell out of the room. It's flitting by the ceiling light. I hope that it will kill itself, as moths do, by going into the light. I have never seen this kind of prehistoric mothlike huge flying creature.

Keohi: I'm scared, Mommy. I'm scared! (starts to cry)

The thing is batting around the room...furiously, nervously. I don't like the looks of it. It probably has some venomous sting. My HK insect book is nowhere in sight. Besides, it looks now like a dark blob against the light.

Me: Don't worry. Don't be scared.

I grab him and his entire bedsheet and plunk him down in the next room. Look for my insect killer racquet.

Me: Mommy will kill it!

I wave the racquet. I'm feeling brave. Sort of. The last time I tried to kill some flying thing near the light last year, I whacked and smashed the entire light. Glass all over the floor. It's never been replaced. Bare bulb in the living room...

Keohi: I'm scared!

Me: Don't be scared. It's a small bug. Mommy will get it.

I am suddenly omnipotent. Able to KILL. BIG BUGS. BIG FLYING BUGS. Mom power. I don't see it. Relief. It fried itself. I carry Keohi and bedsheet back into bed. Resume reading "A Mama for Owen."

Keohi: What's that up there?

He points with bottle to the light. A dark spot near the light. In the fixture.

Keohi: What's THAT? I'm SCARED.

Me: Don't worry, Mommy will kill it.

I grab racquet.

Keohi: No, don't kill it.

Me: OK, Mommy won't kill it.

I try to push it into the ceiling light. Yep. It's half-fried.

Me: All gone.

Keohi: All gone.

Me: Don't worry. Mommy got it. It disappeared.

I am so relieved. It is dead. Light is still intact. Yeah, I'm acclimatized and adjusted to living near an insect infested swamp....OBGB--our beloved green bog, and all of the creepy crawly flying things that it spawns...

Monday, October 12, 2009

BOO to Year in Provence and A Year in Tuscany book. I met Peter Mayle, interviewed him for the Oakland Tribune, found him as witty as his book, but I will say that home renovation in Provence sounds amusing and entertaining. At least he could speak some French. Try home renovation without Chinese (yes, my own monolingual existence is really a pain now). Home renovation in France, or Italy, or Arizona (my only past real life experience) is NOT like home renovation in Hong Kong.

These days I find myself having fantasies about big box stores like Home DeSpot...(as we called the place in AZ). There I found 15 sizes of light sconces, I picked the cheapest one, at US $10 and got it installed by Home Repair Handyman Husband and it is done. Period.

Home renovation in Hong Kong means everyone says they know what you are talking about, agrees to what you say, and then says 24 hours later that they don't know what you are talking about and don't know what you are saying. And the quotation is yes, valid. Until the person forgets what the quotation was, at which point it goes up, or the job is deemed impossible. Usually 14 days after it is given. What do you mean you are waiting for the quotation? Oh yeah. Everyone very very busy. Very busy. OK. No problem. No problem. Yes, you pick wrong tile. Not working. Why didn't you tell me that tile wouldn't work? Shrug shoulders. Haha. Yes. Tile not working. Not good for bathroom. Yes, I do granite. Yes. No problem. Really, we can do it. Well, small problem. But I see...ask boss. I want this black granite. I can't do the granite. No. No, can't. Sure. Fill in the door. No problem. OK, fill it in. No, we can't fill it in. Well, we can but this charge is too low. Maybe 1/3 more. You didn't say you wanted it filled in like that. If I make it look like outside, I charge more.

You are also female. Who listens to women discussing walls and electric sockets in Hong Kong? Tsk. Tsk...

There are a few heroes here: Mr. M of the local electrical supply store who sells everything from DVD players to washing machines and lights. But Mr. M cannot, unfortunately, do the renovations.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

I am so glad. The heat is unbearable in Hong Kong. The sounds of the diggers and trucks, the dust flying, even on sleepy Lantau feels worse when the temperature is high and your clothes are sticking to your body, and your AC is busted and smells like mold.

Rereading The Namesake by Lahiri as I will be leading a discussion on this book for the Lantau Book Club. Being "foreign" has always been a subject of interest to me and here in HK takes on multiple layers.

What does it mean to be a Westerner?

What is a foreigner?

How does one belong?

This city is about foreigners of some kind--whether they be from Shanghai or Sydney. The one thing that all of the foreigners share is a desire for financial security or wealth--this is what brings them to Hong Kong. Most people who are interested in Chinese culture or language or history head up north--we are in the south--this is the land of commerce, trade, and money. Marble floors and mirrored glass. Shoes that pinch. Dark suits worn in a place where thin cottons would be more appropriate.

And then there is the rustle of pink against the green leaves of our bog. The silky gray of the water buffalo. The wind that hits your knees when you hug the curve on the bike path by the beach. This too is Hong Kong, but when I described this to someone who had lived here for several years she said: "You sound like you're describing a foreign country."

Monday, October 5, 2009

Chinese authorities have increased surveillance, harassment and imprisonment of activists ahead of the country's 60th anniversary on October 1 to prevent them from raising human rights concerns that challenge the authorities' image of social harmony, Amnesty International said today.

Amnesty International estimates that several hundred activists and dissidents are under various kinds of surveillance or house arrest and thousands of petitioners are being swept out of Beijing. The organization continues to receive reports that petitioners are being kept in "black jails" and other informal detention facilities outside Beijing.

"The Chinese government wants to celebrate the country's success while ensuring that no dissenting view or complaint is heard," said Roseann Rife, Amnesty International Asia Pacific deputy director. "As a result, what the Chinese government is highlighting is its own fear of giving the Chinese people a real voice to talk about the reality of their lives, good and bad."

In the past few weeks, the authorities have increased their surveillance of petitioners, human rights activists, religious practitioners and ethnic minorities to ensure that they do not raise human rights issues and complaints in any forums during the National Day celebrations.

Petitioners seek justice directly by presenting their cases to central authorities in Beijing after failing to redress their grievances locally.

On Friday, September 25, Chinese media reported that local authorities were told by the central government departments that manage petitioners - the State Bureau for Letters and Visits and the Public Security Bureau - that they should review their records and keep anyone who has filed a petition under local surveillance during this time period.

Beijing authorities regularly forcibly return petitioners to their hometowns before major events or celebrations as they believe petitioners would reflect badly on the country's international public image.

"We call on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on human rights activists and release all prisoners of conscience across the country," said Roseann Rife.

Amnesty International has recently recorded the following incidents:

* Zeng Jinyan, wife of imprisoned human rights activists Hu Jia, was asked by authorities to leave Beijing on September 25 and not to return until after October 10. Zeng Jinyan has been under tight surveillance since her husband was imprisoned in April 2008, effectively halting much of the couple's human rights work.

* On September 23, police informed the lawyer of detained human rights activist Liu Xiaobo that his client had to remain in detention for further investigation of suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power". Liu Xiaobo was seized from his home in Beijing by the police on December 8, 2008, two days before he was due to launch Charter 08, a blueprint for legal and political reform in China.

* In mid September, several Beijing activists were forced to leave the city. Those included former political prisoner and China Democratic Party member Gao Hongming, housing rights activist Wang Ling, who was sent to Re-education Through Labour during the 2008 Olympics, and pro-democracy activist Qi Zhiyong who was left disabled from a gunshot injury during the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

* Since September 22, Tian Qizhuang, a director of the Open Constitution Initiative (OCI), has not been seen by his family. On September 24, he called his son explaining he is under police surveillance and asking him to prepare some clothes for him. OCI Founder Xu Zhiyong remains under surveillance and the organization's finance secretary Zhuang Lu has had only limited contact with her immediate family since her release on August 23.

* Two dozen plain-clothed security forces have been stationed outside the home of Yuan Weijing, wife of imprisoned activist Chen Guangcheng. Her phone is also intermittently cut off. Together with Chen Guangcheng, Yuan Weijing defended the rights of people with disabilities and women affected by abuses of enforcement of family planning policies in Linyi city, Shandong province.

* In Zhejiang province, several members of the banned China Democratic Party, including Zhu Zhengming, Zhu Yufu, Mao Qingxiang, and Hu Xiaoling have had police stationed in front of their homes to prevent them leaving.

* Earlier in September, China Democratic Party member Xie Changfa was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on "subversion" charges in Hunan province. This is one of the longest sentences given to human rights or political activists in recent years.

* Four female petitioners, Yang Xinmei, Li Suping, Wang Lina and Sun Li from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region were detained in Beijing in late August. They were originally placed under 15 days' administrative detention and now have been sent to 2 years of Re-education Through Labour to prevent them from further petitioning over the National Day holiday. The women were petitioning about several issues including land confiscation and miscarriage of justice.

Keohi the Drummer 2009

South Lantau Fair Fall 2009

Butterflies Everywhere 2009

One of Lantau's extraordinary insects. The kind that does not leave you scratching....

Butterfly South Lantau 2009

Stunning and elusive

Green Bananas, 2009

We have to wait until they turn yellow...

Keohi and Steph in South Lantau 2009

Hiking past the gravesite. Beautiful.

I Need a Hug from Dada

Everyone feels better now

Hiking South Lantau 2009

Up the trail to Tung Chung

Baby Kaii and Katie 2009

Friends in the village

Hanging in front of the Lam's House

Helmet, ball, dinosaur undies, and slippers. Life is good.

Watermelon at the pink table 2009

I want the BIG PIECE. NO. THE BIG PIECE. Good. Finally you listened to me.

Halloween Family Pic 2009

American Halloween in Mui Wo 2009

Pirates from Luk Tei Tong

Getting ready to loot Downtown Mui Wo Halloween 2009

Halloween 2009

I'm a pirate, matey...note my matching diaper

Lawnmower Fall 2009

Mowing the lawn in my bike helmet and pink Wellies...

Keohi with sunglasses and bike--looking like Dada...

This my bike. MY BIKE.

Christian Zheng Sheng Association forum

Mui Wo gathers in the gym

Keohi and the Christian Zheng Sheng Assoc.

This is Democracy

May 2009 Keohi in Shades

Earth Tones...

Keohi, Grandma, and His Wheels

A gift from Grandma

Playtown, Kennedy Town, HK

Family Outing...Playtown!

The Hong Kong Insect Bite Index (HKIB)

The 2009 Mosquito Season officially over...sort of. November 24, 2009. The season's last mosquito killed by Stephen at 3AM.

First mosquito bite of 2009. Yup. Last night. On my back. February 5, 2009.The season begins...anticipating a wild rally in the upcoming months due to the killing of OBGB's indigenous frogs.And we have Japanese Encephalitis in our area. Isn't that swell?